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April 17, 2022

Happy Sunday, Pride!

To our K - 10th families, I hope you all had a wonderful spring break. Great news, you have one more day since Monday is also a student holiday.

To everyone, welcome to the home stretch! That's right, the end is near and it will be here before you know it.

Like many of you, my family and I spent a few days away and "unplugged." It was nice to spend this time focusing on my family and yes, focusing on each of you. I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend time during this break thinking about our students and our staff.

I spent some time thinking about how blessed I am and how blessed our staff is. We are blessed every day with the opportunity to help change the course of someone's life with our words, our actions, and our belief in their abilities.

I'm glad that Monday is a holiday and that we get one final day of break, and at the same time, I was looking forward to "tomorrow." One of my most favorite times of the week is Monday morning during arrival. Not only do I get the chance to see and interact with so many students, but I also get to help set the tone for the day and for the week ahead.

I know if I asked our "arrival crew" (Ms. McCray, Dr. Dempsey, Ms. Menges, Ms. Bumgarner, Ms. Andrychowski, Ms. Mabey, Ms. Mitchell, Ms. Carr, Mr. Prothero, Ms. Dorsey, Mr. Skip, and Coach Arizmendi) if they enjoy having "morning duty," their initial answer will be "no."

However, I have also observed this same group during their "morning duty" and have concluded that the way each of them interact with the students as students walk down the sidewalk to head to class, they're helping change the course (mindset) for our students. I've see students exit their vehicles, some sleepy and some who look like they'd rather be anywhere except at school, and after walking past one of the adults mentioned above, they show a little smile, or they have an extra "pep in their step."

What's the secret for this "change of behavior?" It's simple. It's done through this initial interaction with "the arrival crew" and through the positive words and actions of the staff.

I think this is a pretty awesome opportunity that I get to see each morning. By changing our perspectives, we can change lives.

Lions, I hope each of you have a wonderful week and to our K - 10th students, we'll see you on Tuesday (and for our 11th - 12th students, I'll see you tomorrow).

In Strength and Blessings,

~Dr. Compton

Photo of the Week

This week's photo is of our high school students who spent spring break touring Europe as part of an EF Tours trip.

State Testing Information

SC Ready/SC PASS (3rd - 8th)

State Testing is right around the corner. Below are the dates, tests and grades they apply to. All testing will begin at 8:30am each morning. Any student arriving after 8:15am will not be allowed to test and will have to wait for the make up testing date. Please refrain from scheduling any routine doctor, dentist or eye appointments during school hours on testing days. Please make sure your student has a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast prior to each test.

May 4, 2022 - SC READY - ELA Part 1 (Writing) (3rd - 8th grades)
May 5, 2022 - SC READY - ELA Part 2 (Reading) (3rd - 8th grades)
May 9, 2022 - SC READY - Math (3rd - 8th grades)
May 11, 2022 - SC PASS - Science - (4th and 6th grades only)

A Parent brochure was sent home with 3rd quarter report cards. A copy of these can be found here: SC Ready & SC PASS.

Students enrolled in grades three through eight will participate in the SC READY stand-alone field test. The stand-alone field testing for the Spring 2022 SC READY English Language Arts (ELA) assessment will include one text dependent analysis (TDA) item with one question.

Our students will take the field test on April 25, 2022. If students miss the field test, they will be required to make it up.

EOCEP (End of Course Examination Program) - high school courses

The End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) is a statewide assessment program of end-of-course tests for gateway courses awarded units of credit in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The EOCEP encourages instruction in the specific standards for the courses, encourages student achievement, and documents the level of students’ mastery of the academic standards. Gateway courses in English/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies will be defined by the State Board of Education. EOCEP examination scores count 20 percent in the calculation of the student’s final grade in gateway courses. Defined gateway courses currently include Algebra 1, Intermediate Algebra, Biology 1, English 2, and United States History and the Constitution, or courses with other names and activity codes in which the academic standards corresponding to these subjects are taught.

Our students will take their tests on the following dates for the courses listed. As listed above, all testing will begin at 8:30am, any student arriving after 8:15am will not be allowed to test and will have to take the test during the make-up session on May 20, 2022. These are the only dates these exams will be given.

May 2, 2022 - US History (11th grade)
May 16, 2022 - English 2 - Part 1 (Writing)
May 17, 2022 - English 2 - Part 2 (Reading)
May 18, 2022 - Algebra 1
May 19, 2022 - Biology

EOCEP 2021-2022 Parent and Student Assessment Brochure-English

If you have any questions or concerns regarding state testing, please reach out to your student’s teacher or Mrs. Carr, State Testing Coordinator. If you have a student who is particularly anxious regarding testing, please contact their counselor (Mrs. Carr - Elementary or Mrs. Menges - Middle/High) so we can reassure them.

Elementary Guidance with Mrs. Carr

Greetings,

I hope everyone had a fun, restful spring break and a lovely holiday weekend. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous and I enjoyed working in my yard with my kids. We also cleaned, organized and redecorated. It was a lot of work, but it was also extremely rewarding. Teaching children the value of hard work is one of the most difficult lessons they can learn - but also one of the most important lessons. Moving into the last six weeks of school and state testing, our students need to appreciate all the hard work they have put into this school year. Please remember to give positive affirmations to your students every day but especially, prior to, throughout and after testing. They need our support.

This week I continue to do my pre-testing lessons in 3rd-5th grade and Fair is Fair in K-1st grades.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding testing, anxiety or your student.

Have a great 4-day week :)

Hugs,

Mrs. Carr

Promotion Ceremony Yard Signs

Kindergarten Graduation Yard Sign

Click here to place your order. Orders placed by Thursday each week are ready for pick up in 12 days.

5th Grade Graduation Yard Sign

Click here to place your order. Orders placed by Thursday each week are ready for pick up in 12 days.

Middle/High Guidance with Mrs. Menges

Hello again everyone!

I hope you all have had a fantastic spring break. Whether you visited the mountains, beach, or just stayed home, I know you all got some rest and hopefully had some fun. My spring break was spent at home getting lots of my “to-do’s” done. So no sand and salt water for me, but I gained a lot of satisfaction checking things off my list. I have missed seeing all your bright faces and sweet laughs and look forward to being reunited this coming week! I have been thinking a lot about my time at Riverwalk as this year comes close to an end. I am so grateful to have spent the year with you all, and for the way that you guys have welcomed me in so kindly. I love being apart of the lion family and cannot wait to see what’s in the years to come. Let’s make this week back a great one!

Things to know:

9th grade families, we will be having a “rising 10th grade” meeting in April 25th at York Tech to discuss some of the changes that moving over to York Tech next year will bring. Please plan to attend with your student!

11th and 12th graders, I can’t wait for you guys to have your prom this coming weekend. It’s going to be so sweet seeing you guys all dressed up!

I look forward to seeing you guys!

Mrs. Menges

Middle School (6th - 8th Grade Reminders)

8th Grade Graduation Yard Sign

Click here to place your order. Orders placed by Thursday each week are ready for pick up in 12 days

High School Families: Directory & Military Information Opt Out Survey

Please be advised that the SCDE Privacy & Security - Directory & Military Information Opt Out Survey is now available. Please inform your parent community that the survey is available and request they complete the survey ONLY IF they intend for the student’s directory information to be withheld from release to entities such as higher education institutions and/or military recruiters, by logging into their PowerSchool parent portal account. Directions to provide to families are here. We appreciate your assistance! If you have additional questions please contact